Don't Worry it won't Hurt too Much
by xxVICTORIAxx
Summary: Response to Overuse of Emoticons' story "Not worth it" Caitlyn's back, with two new surprises. Gemini and Thomas. Shane/Caitlyn bad summary, good story
1. Chapter 1

_***9 Years Later***_

"_You've reached the Gellar's number, we are unable to take your call right now, but if you leave a name and number we will be sure to get back to you." Beep._

"Hello, Miss Gellar, this is a reminder that the foreclosure on your house will be put into effect today. Please be packed and out of the house by 2:30 p.m.-"

"This phone line has been disconnected." _Beep._ I sighed. This was it, both of my children were in the back seat, and ready to go to. I shut the door and locked it, handing the key to the officer next to me.

"Sorry, Miss Gellar. Maybe, you will have better luck in L.A."

"I highly doubt it." L.A. was the one place I have been avoiding for the past nine years, but L.A. was so big it's not like I will run into Shane, or Mitchie, or Nate, or Jason…I think you get the point. "But thanks anyway." I say quickly before she can ask any questions. "Goodbye." I say quickly and rushed to my car.

"Mommy?" Thomas whined.

"Yes baby?" I started the car and waved to the officer before putting the car in reverse and taking off on the road.

"Why are we going again?"

"Yeah, mommy, why?" Gemini asked.

"Because babies. Because, Grandpa needs us." My mother just recently died and even though my dad and mom were divorced, my dad was taking it pretty hard. I was going to L.A. to be with my father. Just for him.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Come on sweetie." I pulled at Thomas. He was fast asleep, and it didn't look like he was getting up anytime soon.

"Ugh, Thomas. Wake up!" Gemini nudged his arm, "I finally see what you mean about boys being difficult." I laughed a loud at this. She had no idea.

"Yup." I nodded, no need to dig further into the subject.

"I know I'm the better twin." She pushed her chin up a little bit. She looked so much like her father when she did this. Her chin length black hair was from him. Her grey/hazel eyes were mine. Thomas was the opposite; he had brownish-blondish hair and brown eyes.

"Of course you are. Just grab your suitcase and go inside. Grandpa is waiting for you." She nodded and ran inside, her luggage dragging behind her. I shook my head. I was here to take care of my dad, that was it. I tried to pick up Thomas once again but he wouldn't budge. Though Gemini was the oldest (by 3 minutes) Thomas was the tallest.

"Excuse me Miss? But do you need help?" I turned to look at who was talking to me. His voice was too familiar, and he had the eyes to match.

"Caitlyn?" He looked bewildered, confused, and yet happy?

"Nate?" He nodded and a smile spread across his face. Next thing I knew I was being pulled into a hug.

"Where have you been?" He pulled away but held on to my shoulders. I sighed, I was here for five minutes and I already bumped into ¼ of the people I didn't want to see. I was mature now though, I had moved on, so I put on a smile and told him. Not everything, just that I moved away to be with my mom, and now I'm moving back in with my dad (cause mom passed away) and I had two kids. He frowned when I told him about the night I left.

"So who is the father?" The one question I was hoping he wouldn't ask.

"No one important." I tell him truthfully. He nods, he understands I don't want to talk about it.

"So, I can't wait to tell everyone you're here." Now I frowned, I wasn't going to object, but I didn't want to see 'everyone' else at the same time. "But anyway. Need help carrying him?" He nodded towards Thomas.

"Yes, please."

After we brought Thomas upstairs, I tucked him into bed. Dad was already asleep and Gemini was getting out of the shower. She paused when she saw us. She was in tootsie roll pajama's, her favorite candy, and that happened to be Shane's favorite too. The resemblance between Shane and her was outstanding, I was surprised Nate didn't figure it out right off the bat.

"Mommy's who's this?"

"This is Nate. A old friend of mine." Nate leaned down to look her in the eye, then he stuck out his hand to her.

"What's your name?"

"Gemini." She put her hand into Nate's confidently. Nate looked shocked then smiled and said that is was nice to meet her, she agreed.

"Time to go to bed Gemini." I tell her. She turns and hugs me, and I kiss the top of her head.

"Night Mom, love you."

"Night sweetie, love you too." She shut the door to both her and Thomas' bedroom.

"Wow." Nate said.

"What?" I turned back to him, and we made our way to the front door.

"It's just-" He stopped. We were now walking outside.

"What Nate?" I shut the door behind us. It was too cold to go walking out here. Which didn't make any sense according to Nate.

"Gemini looks just Shane." he said bluntly. _Crap._ He looked at me in a confused manner when I didn't respond. His eyes widened. "Wait. Shane is the-wha?" He looked so lost, I couldn't help but…laugh.

It wasn't cheerful laughing it was 'I'm going crazy from stress' laughing. Tears were spilling from my eyes.

I was just about to turn away from him and ask him to leave, when he surprised me, and pulled me into another hug. I clung to him, I hadn't cried to any one in months. Mom was my shoulder to cry one, and now she was gone. "Come one." he said.

"Where are we going? I can't leave my kids."

"Calm down. We are just going for a little walk." I nodded my head. Walking, that may help clear my mind.

As we were walking I told him everything, because he asked to hear it. I told him about my mom and my dad, and the foreclosing of my house made us moving in with my dad, to take care of him, that much more demanding, and final. I told him about Shane and Mitchie, and the real story of the night I left. I told him about how much Gemini reminds me of Shane, and Thomas of both of us. And I told him I was glad neither if them turned out like me, or I wouldn't know what to do. I would feel so terrible for making their lives that way. And that's about where we stopped me. We had been walking and talking for about thirty minutes, and he hadn't said a word the entire time. Well, until now.

"Hey, look at me." He said. I looked up slowly, we stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "If one of your kids turned out like you they would be so lucky."

"Not according to Shane. I'm nothing special to Shane."

"Who cares what Shane thinks?" He demanded angrily.

"I do." I said. "Or, at least, I did."

"You shouldn't anymore." I didn't feel like arguing so I just nodded and we continued walking. After twenty more minutes I decided to call it a day. It was eleven' o'clock, and I had been driving since yesterday, noon.

"Goodnight Nate. Thank you." I opened the door and stepped in. He smiled.

"Welcome Caity." How i hated that name.

"It's Caitlyn." I murmured softly. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Caitlyn." He turned and left. I shut the door and went to go to sleep on my bed. That is if you call the coach a bed.

***NATE'S POV***

I ran most of the way home. I knew Shane was going to be awake. He always was, arguing with Mitchie, I wish those two would just break up already.

"Shane!" I yelled running through the door.

"Shut up." He said to me, "No not you Mitchie." I rolled my eyes.

"Shane it's important." I yelled-whispered.

"What?" He snapped, but before I could respond he was apologizing to Mitchie.

"Please Shane listen-"

"Nate shut up!" Shane dramatically. He had defiantly changed since Caitlyn left. Once Caitlyn left he and Mitchie started fighting and breaking up and then making up.

"Please Shane." He had to know he was a father at least.

"What Nate, hold on Mitch, what?" He pressed the phone to his shirt.

"Caitlyn's back." Shane froze. Then he slowly lifted the phone to his ear.

"Mitch? Yeah, I'm going to have to call you back." And before she could respond he pressed and end.


	2. Chapter 2

***NATES POV***

Shane was pacing back and forth in front of me, his eyebrows furrowed together with anxiety. It was the typical look of a man who was waiting for his wife to come out of labor. However, Shane wasn't married. And the only girl he'd gotten pregnant went into labor nine years ago, unbeknownst to Shane. I wasn't going to be the one to tell Shane he had two kids. So sue me. Caitlyn was the mother, so Caitlyn should tell him. I was just there to make sure he knew he needed to go talk to her.

"Shane, just go and talk to her," I told him, tired of waiting.

He glared murderously at me that made me reconsider that maybe looks _could _kill. "Are you crazy?" he hissed. "She hates me!" It was a good thing Jason was married out of the house. Neither of us needed his smart-ass quips at the moment.

It was a fairly pathetic sight, though; Two brothers already in their late twenties living together. Shane couldn't move in with Mitchie, seeing as she was always complaining about how much of a pig he was every time he spent the night. Not wanting to listen to her bitching all the time, he decided to live with me.

La dee fucking da.

Maybe I could get him to live with Caitlyn…

"She doesn't hate you, Shane," I assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I mean, I can guarantee you're not the first person she'd want to see, but she does want to talk to you."

Shane turned to me with skeptical eyes. They were pooling with emotion. My brother may not have been an open book, but—not to sound cliché or anything—his eyes were the window to his soul.

"No. She hates me. I know she does."

"Why are you so worried about her hating you? God, you were the one who broke up with her, so it's not like you like her or even care about her anymore." Damn. That was _not _the right thing to say. I regretted saying the last part immediately after I said it. Shane didn't know about the kids yet.

Shane's hazel eyes turned from skeptical and worried to angry and hurt. "What the hell do you mean I don't care? Of course I care about Caity!" he shouted at me, flailing his arms around. Shane didn't seem to notice the use of his old nickname for her.

"Why?" I prompted with a raised eyebrow.

Why _did _he care all of a sudden? Shane left Caitlyn with no official closure. Shane ignored Caitlyn's messages after the breakup when she wanted to see if everything was alright. And then he did the unthinkable, asking Mitchie—Caitlyn's best friend—out, telling her to not talk to Caitlyn about it because he "already told her." Even after all that, when Caitlyn got up and left on that fateful day, Shane didn't go after her. Hell, he didn't even notice. And after two weeks of not hearing from Caitlyn, _Jason _was the first to go to her apartment. Not Shane. Jason.

Shane never cared about Caitlyn.

So he had a lot of nerve to claim to now.

"Because Caitlyn just… left. She didn't bother saying goodbye to anyone, or say where she was going. For all we knew, she was dead," said Shane forlornly. His angry expression crumbled and his eyes were tired and broken.

"You didn't bothergoing after her, Shane. You hadn't even noticed because you had Mitchie, her _best friend. _She needed to get away, to move on."

"But why did she have to leave and not tell anyone?"

"Because she had to get away from you!" I snapped, frustrated that Shane was being so selfish. "I understand why she left. And so does everyone else. I admit, she was a bit irrational, and she could've told someone she was leaving, but it still reasonable."

"A_ bit_ irrational?" Shane repeated incredulously. "No, Nate, it wasn't a bit irrational. It was crazy of her to do! How were we supposed to know she was alright?" Shane plopped down on the recliner and buried his face in his hands. I felt a twinge of pity for him, but it was immediately smothered when I remembered Caitlyn. Caitlyn, whose face was far too beautiful to be marred by that weary and broken expression she wore on the day she left. Caitlyn, who deserved far more than the shit Shane put her through.

I sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of my nose. "We weren't supposed to." I finally realized why Caitlyn left without a word. She hadn't wanted us to try to keep in contact with her because she figured out she didn't deserve to be used, thrown away, and not cared for. Caitlyn deserved better than that.

Shane raised his head and looked me straight in the eye, his gaze steely. "What did you say?" he whispered. His expression was hard, but his voice just seemed… upset and surprised.

"Don't you get it, Shane? Caitlyn didn't want to remember us or all of the crap she'd gone through when she was friends with us. She wanted to be happy, like us, so she went out and seized the chance." _Or she tried at least. _

Shane had a look of realization on his face: His eyes were wide, his eyebrows were furrowed, and the corners of his mouth were turned down in a frown. Shane looked utterly defeated. I had never seen him this way before.

"She didn't want to remember me?" It wasn't a question so much as a statement. It was a simple fact of truth that dawned on him, and he was just saying it aloud. His eyes stared at me intensely, asking me, pleading me to say it wasn't true.

I wanted so badly to punch him in the gut and tell him outright that it was his entire fault Caity left. But his expression was so scared, so confused. I didn't have the heart to say it. So I just nodded hesitantly.

At that nod, Shane broke.

He fell back into the recliner, his head lolled to the side slightly. He stayed like that for a moment before I broke the silence.

"What I don't get," I spoke up, "is why you care so much."

Shane pulled his head up and propped his body up on his knees with his elbows. Shane stared at me for a few seconds before averting his gaze to the window. "Because I loved her," he murmured with a wistful expression on his face.

I sent a disbelieving look at Shane. His tone was convincing enough, but after all Caitlyn went through because of him, I found it hard to believe. "Bullshit."

Shane glared at me. "No, it's not."

"Oh, really?" I scoffed. "What was her favorite color?"

"She liked bright, neon colors like electric orange and blue." I was impressed. Shane didn't even have to think. But I wasn't ready to believe him yet.

"Alright, fine. What was her favorite drink?"

"Double espresso with vanilla syrup and whipped cream on top," he said quickly with a nostalgic smile.

My eyebrows shot up. "Wow. Impressive Shane."

"Well, I did love her. A lot."

"What did you love most about her?"

Shane snorted and shot me a look, asking if I was serious. When I inclined my head, telling him to start, he sighed.

"My favorite thing about Caity? I couldn't even begin to say all of them."

"Well, try."

Shane sighed again before saying, "Everything, I guess. The way she would laugh at my stupid jokes. And when she would get lost when she danced to her favorite songs. Sometimes I would listen with her, and she would pull me to my feet, and we'd dance 'til we were purple in the face.

"And then there was her personality. She was so strong and brave, and it seemed like nothing could break her. Caity never wanted to fight, and when she had a problem, she'd tell me right out instead of complaining. She always asked me if I could fix it, and I always did. And after her problem was fixed, she would always give me the most beautiful smile in the world. God, Caitlyn was everything I could ask for."

"Why'd you let her go, then?"

Shane gave me a sad smile. "I…don't know."

My thoughts drifted to Caitlyn's ex-best friend. Mitchie, who was fragile and weak, whiny, and always looking for a fight with Shane. "You know, Caitlyn seems like the opposite of Mitchie." I hadn't meant for it to come out sounding so harsh. It just did. I was angry with Shane for dumping such a great girl for _her. _

Shane was about to protest, but in the end, he nodded. "Yeah. The opposite of Mitchie."

"Do you even love Mitchie? Do you even love her as much as you loved Caitlyn?" I asked with pure curiosity. Shane didn't think I knew it, but when Caitlyn left, he was so pissy with everyone, Mitchie broke up with him for the first time. He went into a two-week depression. Everyone thought it was because of Mitchie, but I knew it was because of Caitlyn.

"Why do you ask?"

I shrugged. "It just seems like you two are struggling so hard to keep up a relationship neither of you want. It seems like it's… a burden." I remembered something Caitlyn told me when I was having problems with my (ex) girlfriend. "A relationship isn't a burden, Shane. It's supposed to be your support, and the challenges in life are the burden. Relationships are there to help you get through them."

Shane gave me a curious look. "You know you sounded like a chick back there, right?"

My cheeks warmed up slightly. "Just quoting something Caitlyn told me a while back." I pointedly noticed Shane changed the subject. "You never answered my question," I pointed out with a glare.

"What question?" I rolled my eyes at his innocent act. It was the one thing Shane could never get down pat.

"You know what I'm talking about."

He sighed. "Fine. I – It's just that…" Shane ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I don't," he admitted. "I don't love Mitchie, and I'm not sure I ever have."

For the second time that evening, I wanted to punch my brother. I wanted to punch him and shout at him, asking why he ever left Caitlyn if he never loved Mitchie. But no good would come out of that.

I took a calming sigh before asking, "So why'd you leave Caitlyn?"

Shane's face scrunched up as he tried to force an answer out. "I was… confused. I wasn't sure what I wanted. Christ, I was only seventeen! I just didn't know what I was doing."

"That's not good enough," I spat, crossing my arms.

"W-what?"

"When you go and talk to Caitlyn, that excuse will not be good enough," I pointedly explained.

Shane heaved another miserable sigh and put his head back in his hands. He looked tired.

"She'll be at her father's house all week. Go talk to her." I start walking to the stairs.

"Nate," Shane called after me. I stopped moving but made no move to look at him. "Why is she back?"

"It's not for you, I can tell you that," I snapped at him.

"I figured as much."

I turned to look at Shane over my shoulder. I figured I should at least tell him a bit of why Caitlyn came back. "Her mom died, so she moved in with her father instead. There's more to it, but you'll have to get her to tell you."

"How do you know I'll talk to her? And even if I do, how do you know Caitlyn will tell me?"

"Because I know you, Shane. And I know Caity. She'll tell you."

Shane snorted. "Yeah. Out of spite."

"Maybe." I shrugged. "But at least you'll know." Once again, I start heading upstairs. I knew Shane would go talk to her. And if it wasn't so dark and cold outside, he'd be halfway there already.

Once I reached my room, I flopped down on my bed. I thought today was very progressive. I got to see Caitlyn again, and we rekindled our friendship. On top of that, I found out I was an uncle, and Shane finally decided to go talk to her. Who said miracles didn't happen? Now, if only another miracle would happen and Caitlyn and Shane got back together.

Who knows? By the end of this week, maybe Mitchie would be out of the picture for good, and Caitlyn's (and Shane's) kids would be in it…

Maybe there was hope for the Gray family yet.

* * *

**Ok, guys what'cha think? and of course a big thanks to the one and only **

**OveruseofEmoticons! for her story line and awesome editing skills haha (:** _**Reviews, Reviews, and more Reviews **_3


	3. Chapter 3

***CAITYLN'S POV***

I woke up at eight the next morning, which was sleeping in through a mother's eyes. I went downstairs to make breakfast for the kids and Dad when the ring of my cell phone cut through the silence. Picking it up, I looked at the number curiously; it wasn't one I recognized, but it had the same area code as my father's.

Throwing all caution to the wind, I answered with a tentative "Hello?"

"Caity?" said a deep and masculine voice. "It's me, Nate."

So much for a peaceful morning. "Oh. Um, hey. I don't mean to be rude, but how'd you get my number?"

Nate chuckled, the sound sending a strange, but not unpleasant, tingle in my ear. "When you're this famous, you have connections." I could practically hear him smirking.

Raising an eyebrow at his comment, I put the phone on speaker and set it on the table so I could start preparing the food. "Alright-y, then," I said as I heated the griddle, still deciding on a meal. "Do you always have a habit of waking up at eight in the morning on a Saturday to talk to a friend, or is something up?"

"Oh, you know. I just wanted to say hi." Nate's voice had a strange edge to it, but I wrote it off as it being too early for him.

"Mmm-hmm," I murmured absentmindedly. "Now, what do you really want?" I decided on making pancakes and bacon, and got out the ingredients. Dad and Gemini liked eating both of them for breakfast while Thomas and I only liked pancakes. Just like Shane.

_No, not like Shane, _I reprimanded myself. _Thomas likes it how I like it. Shane has nothing to do with it._

"Well…" Nate hedged slightly, and I could tell he was tugging at his collar. "Shane and I talked last night and—"

"What did you tell Shane?" I demanded, ceasing all breakfast-making activities and picking the phone off the counter. I prayed silently he didn't tell Shane about the kids.

Nate coughed. "I told him you came back."

"You did what?!" I immediately regretted yelling it for the kids were still asleep. Lowering my tone, I hissed at him, "Now, what did you do?" Venom leaked into my voice, and fear gripped at my heart. I hoped Shane wouldn't come and visit.

"I, ah, told Shane?" he said meekly with a nervous chuckle.

"Now, Nate, sweetie," I began sweetly, trying to keep my patience with the idiot who liked 'fros, "why the hell would you do something like that?"

"Because he needed to know he was a father of two kids." Nate was whispering now, as though he was afraid someone would overhear us.

"Nate, where are you?" I asked suspiciously.

"I'm at home." There was something in is voice I couldn't quite catch. But then I remembered who lived with him.

"Shane's with you right now, isn't he?"

"He's not with-with me right now," Nate told me hastily as though telling me this would keep me from biting his head off later. "He's in another room, reading the paper."

"Does Shane know about my kids?" I was trying to keep my voice down and not yell at him, but Nate was making it difficult to keep my temper in check.

"You mean both of your children?" he corrected timidly.

I glared at the wall in front of me and leaned against the counter. "No, I mean _my _children," I snapped at him. They were only blood related to Shane, but that didn't make him any more family than my cousin twice removed.

"C'mon, Caitlyn, they're Shane's children too," Nate tried reasoning with me, but I wouldn't hear any of it.

"Only by blood. He's not their family."

A rustling noise was heard, and I assumed Nate shrugged. "You may think that, but they're still his kids. If you'd told him before you'd left, I'm sure Shane wouldn't have let you leave."

"Nate," I said firmly, "we're not having this discussion right now. So please, answer my question."

"Which question?" he asked innocently. Innocent, my ass. If we were talking face to face, I would've punched him.

"Don't play dumb, Nate. It doesn't suit you."

He gave a heavy sigh, and I could tell he was pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, Caity, I didn't tell him. I'm not going to, either."

"Good." I shifted the phone to be held against my ear with my shoulder. The kids would be waking up soon, so I began beating the batter again and poured it onto the hot griddle to cook.

"I'm not going to tell him because you will."

I nearly dropped the bowl. "W-what? Like hell I will!" There was no way I would tell Shane about Gemini and Thomas. It was inevitable they would ask about him later in their lives, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

"Well, he'll find out pretty soon."

"Why do you sound so sure?"

"Because Shane just left, and he should be at your house in a few minutes," Nate said matter-of-factly.

"Nate!" I snapped at him, not caring anymore about my volume—it was around the time the twins got up. "How could you let him leave?" My jaw tensed as it usually did when I was nervous, and my back stiffened slightly in anxiety.

I heard Nate shrug over the phone. "He decided to come and see you last night all by himself, and he would have if it hadn't been dark," he stated simply. "You know when Shane sets his mind to something he never lets it go."

"Liar," I spat.

Nate sighed again. "Fine," he admitted. "I told him to go talk to you, but he needs to know! It's not fair to keep this from him. Or your children, for that matter."

Damn. Nate had a point, and I knew he knew he could tell he won from my hesitation. He always knew me so well.

"So, Caity, when he gets there, be nice," Nate admonished like a mother warning her miscreant son.

Snorting ungracefully, I told him that it wouldn't happen.

"Come on, Caity. Be nice to Shane-y boy," he persuaded me. "Even if he is a jackass."

I chuckled slightly at Nate's insult. "Fine," I murmured, knowing it was useless to argue against Nate. "I'll _try. _But mind you, that doesn't mean I actually will."

"That's all I'm asking for."

"Oh, and Nate?"

He hummed in response.

"My name's Caitlyn." I could hear him chuckle across the line.

"Caitlyn. Got it."

I found myself laughing along with him. "Alright," I said affectionately. "Bye, Nate."

"Talk to you later, _Caity._"

Laughing, I hung up my phone and finished making the pancakes. Once I finished, I began frying the bacon. The aroma floated up to my nose, and I wrinkled it with distaste. Bacon was one of the few foods I hated; it was so fattening and salty. My mind drifted back to an incident of when Shane and I were still dating. We'd gone out to eat at IHOP, and we'd both ordered pancakes. The plates came with two slices of bacon each.

"Shane!" I cried, laughing at his antics. "You can't throw the bacon at the waiters!"

Shane gave me a pout. "Why not? I didn't order this crap. I ordered pancakes with syrup, not this fatty, salty, heart-attack-guaranteed stuff."

After the heated debate, I'd finally convinced him that chucking bacon at the waiters' heads was a surefire way to get us kicked out.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard footsteps rampaging down the stairs. Shouting and thumps were heard, and my kids' voices carried well throughout the house.

"Move, Gem!" Thomas shouted as he gently shoved his sister out of the way. "Mommy made pancakes!"

Gemini let out an exaggerated shriek of pain. "Mommy, Thomas pushed me!" Always a drama queen, she was. Just like Shane.

I laughed quietly to myself and wiped my hands on my towel before walking out to greet them. "Both of you hush. Your grandpa is still asleep," I chided them as they ran around the corner, both trying to be the fastest to get to the table. "Are you sure you two are already nine?"

"We'll be ten in September," Thomas told me in a smug tone. I rolled my eyes. As if I didn't know. They'd spent the last few days bugging me about their birthday when it was only July.

"Oh, I know, darling. You wouldn't stop talking about it earlier. You would complain about not having your birthday in our old neighborhood and not being able to invite that nice Sarah girl from across the street."

Thomas flushed a brilliant red, and I couldn't suppress a chuckle at my son's appearance. He was so easy to fluster. "T-that's not true! I missed my friends!" he protested adamantly. I supposed he wasn't willing to admit his first crush yet.

Gemini rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. The only kids in the neighborhood were girls, and they were all _my _friends."

"They were my friends too!"

"Alright, now, you two," I interrupted. "Stop fighting. It's breakfast time, so sit down and eat." I placed their plates in front of them, and Gemini immediately started eating with vigor. I smiled at Gemini and affectionately ruffled her already-messy hair.

Thomas, on the other hand, stared at his food with a strange look. I raised an eyebrow at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thomas, is something wrong?"

He looked up at me quickly, his eyes widening. "Nothing, Mom. I'm fine," he told me hastily. I nodded my head slowly, not quite believing him. When I was turned around, I heard him offer his bacon to his sister. "Mom gave me some, and I don't like it."

Gemini beamed at him and wasted no time snatching it from his plate. "Thanks, Tom!"

I wanted to kick myself. It was a careless mistake on my part, but I did have the excuse of stress and anxiety. Shane, my ex-boyfriend, the father of my children, and the man who left me for my best friend, was coming to see me. And he would lay eyes on his children for the first time. I pushed down the hope that was bubbling inside me of having a father figure for my children. Once Shane realized he fathered two children and has no obligation to stay, he'll leave me just like he did nine years earlier.

I was going to tell him, once he got here, that I didn't expect anything from him. He could go live happily ever after with Mitchie and leave no one the wiser—_especially _not my kids. I might tell them in the future. But when the time came, I'd just tell them their father came to visit once, but he abandoned us again once he heard he had twins.

I shook my head. Shane was coming here and would probably get here in less than five minutes. (Or he could've already been here. Shane might've been pacing outside the door like he did when he wanted to ask me out for the first time.)

There was a knock on the door, and my heart skipped a beat before pounding rapidly in my chest.

"I'll get it!" Thomas yelled and sprinted to the door. He swung it open before I could say anything.

"Thomas, get back here!" I called to him. I ran over and grabbed my son by the waist.

Gemini followed me and stared owlishly at the man in the doorway. "Mommy, who's that?"

"No one," I muttered quickly, not even glancing up at the person. I didn't need to. I knew who it was, and I knew he was gawking at me and the twins. "Go sit down, both of you." I gave them a gentle push in the direction of the table, and they followed my instructions immediately. They knew when to follow my orders whenever my voice got stern. The twins were good children, my angels. But I didn't want or need them asking questions.

I took a deep breath and stood up to my full height. I turned to the man in the doorway, and sure enough, it was Shane. I looked into the confused hazel eyes of the man who caused me so much heartbreak, so much pain. The man who made me move over a thousand miles just to get away from him. The man who was the father of my children but was less of a dad than my father was.

"Caitlyn," Shane whispered, anxious and shallow breaths coming from those full lips I'd once kissed.

I stared bitterly up at him. "Hello, Shane."

* * *

**So how do you like? hehe, hope you enjoyed. Reviews are much love! (:**


	4. Chapter 4

Shane merely stood rooted to his spot, staring at me owlishly.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, crossing my arms. I was tired of him just standing there. I wanted him to say something, but I didn't want the twins to overhear. I stepped outside and shut the door behind me before repeating my question to Shane.

"I was—I came here t-to see you," he stammered, wringing his hands together nervously.

"Well, you saw me," I snapped. "So if there's nothing else…" I turned back to the door, but before I could grab the doorknob, a hand grasped my arm to prevent me from going on.

"W-wait, Caitlyn," he began.

I wrenched my arm from his grasp. "Don't you dare touch me," I snarled, my eyes blazing with contempt. Shane flinched and recoiled, looking at me with something akin to pain in his eyes. I wanted to scoff. Since when did Shane Gray ever feel remorse? But then, Nate's obnoxious reprimanding, telling me to be nice, repeated in my head. Huffing, I crossed my arms again and lowered my voice. "What are you doing here, Shane?" My gaze was lowered, refusing to meet his.

"I came to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing fine, thanks for asking." I looked up at him. "Why do you care all of a sudden?" When Shane flinched again, I held back one of my own. I hadn't meant for it to come out snappy, rude even. I was just curious.

It was obvious he didn't like my question. The corners of his lips turned down, and Shane averted his gaze. When Shane began biting his lower lip and shoved his hands in his pockets, I knew he was uncomfortable.

"Alright, then," I said slowly, trying very hard to not be a bitch. "Anything else you needed?"

Shane's hazel eyes finally rose to meet mine. "Yeah," he said, "who are the kids?"

"Thomas and Gemini," I answered. I should probably have told him right then, but I chickened out.

"Who's the dad?" Shane asked, giving me an anxious look.

I nearly said Derek. He was my neighbor and best friend back in Texas. He drove me to and from school nearly all of the year. Derek was the father figure my children never had, and for a while, he nearly did become their father. We dated for two years, but the relationship never went anywhere, so we broke it off. The kids positively adored Derek, and I loved him as though he were my brother.

Even now, we're still best friends. I probably should've called him sooner, though. Derek had just finished his final year in college but work in a New York hospital for a few years, and he made me promise to call once we were settled in and comfortable. But then again, I wasn't very comfortable at the moment, and I didn't think Derek would've minded me telling Shane he was the father. After all, both twins had called him 'Daddy' up until they were four.

Thomas and Gemini called him Uncle Derek after that, but occasionally, a 'Dad' would slip out from habit. I didn't blame them. Derek would've made a wonderful dad, and they needed a father figure in their lives. Especially Thomas. The idea of telling Shane that Derek was the father was becoming very appealing, through my desperation. (And a small part of me wanted to see his reaction.)

"Derek Alexander," I murmured.

Something flashed through Shane's eyes before they reverted back to their anxious state. "Who's he?" His voice was hard, but his fist was clenched, his body emanating anger and insecurity.

"My best friend."

"Some best friend," Shane muttered, shoving his fists into his coat pockets.

Well, we were in a relationship, and we did fuck once or twice. We were, however, safe, unlike Shane and me.

"My best friend," I repeated in a slightly louder tone, "is the father figure for my children. But Derek is not the father."

"Really?" Shane breathed, relief obvious in his voice.

I nodded. "Yeah, really. A jackass is actually the father of the twins." Shit. There was no backing out now. I had to tell him.

"Caity—"

"It's Caitlyn to you."

Shane sighed and repeated my name. I rolled my eyes. "You"—Shane took a deep breath and looked at me seriously—"You didn't get raped, did you, Caitlyn?"

I burst out laughing at his question. Oh, how absurd Shane was being. Honestly. The father of my children showed up at my doorstep, asking if I had been impregnated after getting raped. A ludicrous situation.

"I'm being serious, you know," Shane mumbled, a faint blush splashed on his cheeks. His lips were upturned in a slight smile, for some strange reason.

Stifling my giggles, I wiped a tear of mirth from my eye. "I-I know you are. It's just that when you hear the whole story, you might end up laughing too." _Or running away, _I added silently.

"Why do you say that?" Shane leans in closer to me, as though waiting to hear a secret from me. Well, it sort of was, I admitted to myself.

"Because, Shane"—I darted my gaze down to his feet and wrung my hands together nervously—"you're the father." My voice was loud and clear, as though I wasn't nervous in the slightest. Had I not been looking at his feet, I wouldn't have known Shane staggered back a step. I looked up quickly to see Shane gripping the railing for support. "But don't worry, I don't expect anything," I hastily told him. _I'm actually surprised you're still here, _I thought.

Shane was staring at me with an expression that could only have been described as pure shock. I vaguely noticed the hand gripping the railing was shaking, the knuckles completely white.

"What?" he whispered. Though it came out quiet, it was clear and sharp, demanding an explanation.

"You're the father of my two gorgeous children, Gemini and Thomas. Gem is older, but only by a few minutes, and she takes a lot after you. She has your hair, your smile, but she has my eyes. Thomas was born second, obviously, and has a few more of my qualities than yours." I let my lips quirk up into a small, fond smile. "But he acts like you did when you like a girl." I looked up at him, finishing my little monologue. It didn't look like he could take much more. "It's funny how even after all these years, my kids like a combination of both of us."

"Don't you mean our children?" he asked hoarsely, his eyes wide.

"They may share our blood, but they've only known my love," I snapped, crossing my arms. Sighing, I rubbed my temple gently. "Shane, I told you to not worry about it. You don't even have to meet the kids if you don't want to. I just wanted to tell you. Well, technically, it was Nate who wanted you to know, but that's beside the point."

"C-Can I meet them?"

"Of course you can. Half their genetics are yours, after all. Just don't start acting all 'Daddy' on them," I warned, giving Shane a look. "They don't know you, and they're just kids." Shane nodded and mumbled his understanding. I opened the door and walked to the kitchen with Shane in tow. "Gem, Tom, there's someone who wants to meet you guys." I glanced back at Shane in amusement; he looked as nervous as when he met my parents for the first time.

Gem turned around in her seat to look at me. "Who is it, Mom?"

Grabbing Shane's arm, I pulled him up in front of me to get closer to the twins. "Kids, this is Shane. I knew him when I lived here before I moved to Texas."

"Oh, okay!" Gemini jumped off her chair and walked up Shane. "Nice to meet you, Shane!" she said, smiling brightly up at Shane. She held out her hand for him to take.

Shane gave a tentative smile, probably finally realizing he was the father of twins. Gem looked so much like Shane, and the smiles on both of their faces were nearly identical. "It's nice to meet you too, Gemini," he said quietly, shaking her outstretched hand with care for a moment.

"And I'm Thomas." My son followed his sister out of his chair and walked up to Shane, holding his hand out as well. Shane gave a nod and shook his hand. "You know," Tom mused, "you look kind of familiar." He trailed off thoughtfully, blinking up at Shane with his curious hazel eyes.

"Okay!" I interrupted hastily, for fear Thomas would figure it out. He was always an intelligent kid and highly resourceful. I didn't want to take any chances. "Enough introductions, you guys." I gave them a smile and hoped it didn't look as nervous as I felt. "Why don't you talk for a bit? I'll give you some time alone." Shane deserved some bonding time with the twins at least. He was the biological father, after all. I picked up their plates, took them to the sink, and began washing them.

"Mom?" I heard Thomas ask as he came up behind me. I could practically hear the cogs working in his mind.

I hummed in response as I worked hard on a particular egg stain.

"That guy, Shane, was… weird."

I stopped scrubbing for a moment but still didn't turn around to face him. "And why is that, sweetie?"

"He looked like Gem. A lot. And I think I remember seeing him before."

My eyes widened, and I bit my lip nervously. He had never seen Shane before, and I made sure of that. Turning around to Thomas, I lowered myself to make eye contact with him. "What are you talking about?"

"Shane was in a picture," he said slowly, wringing his hands together, "with you, another girl, and Uncle Nate." Thomas' nose wrinkled slightly in concentration. Another habit he'd picked up from me.

My eyes narrowed at Thomas who shifted guiltily under my gaze. "Where did you find this picture?" I demanded. The phone rang, but I made no move to answer it; Gemini said she would answer it.

"In your yearbook," he said quietly. "Or maybe in one of the albums you kept under your bed."

I raised an eyebrow. "And why were you in my bedroom, _under _my bed?"

"Sarah and Gem were trying to make me put on a dress," Thomas explained, his tone taking on a bit of a whine. "I had to find an escape." His eyes were filled with worry and guilt, and I almost laughed at him. I gave him a small smile and ruffled his head before getting back to the dishes. "Shane had his arms around you," he said bluntly.

I nearly dropped the plate I was holding. Before I could say anything, Gemini ran into the room to hand me the phone, saying it was their Uncle Derek. Smiling, I took the phone. It looked like Derek beat me to calling him.

"Hello?"

"Hello, my beautiful friend," a deep, baritone voice murmured happily into my ear.

I chuckled softly. "Hi, Derek. It's great to hear from you," I said, cheering up immediately. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing," he said smoothly. I raised an eyebrow. He wanted something. "But hey, do you think I could come over to visit?" I knew it.

"Yeah, of course," I told him, a hint of concern leaking into my voice. "But what brought this up?"

"Well, hospitals in the Big Apple ain't all it's cut out to be. Way too much blood, babe."

"But you've lived in New York for the past eight years!" I exclaimed, laughing quietly. He was finally finished with college, I was ecstatic for his return. But when I found out he had to stay in New York for a job, I was devastated. Derek visited every opportunity he got. But I also had to move, so it wasn't that bad.

"I got assigned to work in the Trauma Center," said Derek, deadpanning. "I had to stitch up someone who had five shot wounds and two stab wounds. Need I say more?"

My chuckles turned into loud guffaws at his comment. I could imagine Derek stitching the poor dear up, his face green and terrified to death. "Of course you can stay here, sweetie. Dad loves you."

"And I love you, Caity! You're the best!"

"I already knew that," I drawled smugly, my lip curling into a smirk.

I could hear Derek's comforting chuckle. "Of course you did, Caity-Lynn," Derek crooned. I rolled my eyes. How he abused my hated nickname. "I have to go hand in my resignation form. I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"

"Sure, DeeDee," I said sweetly.

Derek laughed. "Bye, Caitlyn."

"Bye, Derek." I hung up the phone and saw the twins standing there, staring at me. "Good news, guys. Uncle Derek is coming soon." Wait. Why were they both here? I raised an eyebrow. "Where's Shane? Shouldn't you two be keeping him company?"

Gemini looked down. "Shane left."

My blood ran cold. And suddenly, I felt it begin to boil. "What?" I whispered, keeping my voice down for fear of yelling.

"He left," she repeated. I could tell she was surprised by the anger in my voice.

I heaved a huge sigh. I should've known. I knew shouldn't have let my hopes rise when he asked to meet them. It was Shane. Of course he wouldn't commit to a family. But no, I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. I knew he wouldn't love them immediately. I knew he would run.

But I'd hoped he would stay.

***SHANE'S POV***

I had to get out of that house. Caitlyn told me I had kids; twins for crying out loud! The news was too much. And I couldn't barge into their tight-knit family, even if I was their father. I'd missed out on too much of their life, and they'd probably be mad since I had left Caitlyn when she was pregnant.

But when I found out—wow. They were everything I could've wanted in kids. Thomas looked just like Caitlyn, but he had my eyes. He was tall; much taller than Gemini. He was exactly like Caitlyn: smart, strong, and always thoughtful. And Gemini—she was gorgeous. So bright and bubbly, and she looked just like me! She even liked Tootsie Rolls! They were my kids and every bit as beautiful as Caitlyn made them out to be. The minute I saw them, I loved them with all my heart. I wanted to hug them, to kiss them, to say I was so, so sorry for not being there for them and their mother. But they wouldn't want me in their family. Not after what I did to Caitlyn.

Caitlyn. I sighed wistfully. She looked just as radiant as she looked when I first saw her. She didn't look like she'd given birth to twins; Caitlyn looked like she was in the prime of her life. But her eyes—they looked far too old beyond her years. Tired, scared, confused. I wanted nothing more than to hug her and shower kisses onto her. I wanted to apologize for all I'd done to her. But I knew she would just push me away and punch the living daylights out of me.

I couldn't believe I did this to her. No wonder she was so pissy to me. I'd left her alone to take care of our two kids right after leaving her for her best friend, Mitchie.

Mitchie. Oh, how I regretted leaving Caitlyn for her. I didn't love her, she didn't love me. And even if I did love her, it could never come near the love I felt for Caity. Tears threatened to spill. I walked out on Caitlyn, and I walked out on two beautiful children. I left three people alone, two of which didn't even know who I was.

I failed them.

I was so stupid! I took the road never traveled. I had a chance to lead the life I'd always wanted. I could've completed those dreams I had with Caitlyn. I could've been a father to Thomas—the one to teach him how to throw his first football or play a guitar. I could've been an overprotective dad to Gemini and spoil her rotten. I could've been a—a husband to Caity. I would've proposed, had I not hooked up with Mitchie.

But I screwed up. Horribly.

Guilt coursed through me, and I pushed my muscles even farther. I was the reason they were alone, the reason Gem and Thomas didn't have a dad. I felt so low. I wanted to go jump off a cliff so I could feel half as bad as Caitlyn did when she had to face the pregnancy alone, all because I was a jerk. I ran into my house and up to my room, slamming the door in the process. For the longest time, I merely stood there, sweat and tears dripping off my face, panting heavily. There was a knock on the door, but when I made no move to answer it, Nate opened the door.

"Shane?" he called out, his body casting a shadow into my room. I could hear the anger and frustration in his voice. "Caitlyn called."

"R-really?" I could hear my voice crack, sobs threatening to make themselves heard.

"Why, Shane? You had one shot—one fucking shot to make up with Caitlyn, to make this work. So why the hell didn't you take it?"

I flinched at his furious tone. There were so many different reasons, I wanted to say. But I didn't have any more control on my voice as I did ten seconds ago. I merely collapsed on my bed with a sigh and curled up into a little ball. I heard the floor squeak and footsteps, and Nate sat on the edge of my bed.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're such an idiot, Shane," Nate whispered, the anger gone and sympathy evident in his voice.

I merely whimpered. "I know, Nate. I fucking know."

* * *

**So what do you think? I personally like how it ended...but i guess that doesn't matter too much. Haha (:**

**Anyway, please review!!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

***CAITLYN'S POV***

I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. The time flashed brightly at me, contrasting against the black of the night.

_1:53 am_

Why was I even still up?

I answered my own question. Shane. Shane was the reason I was up, wondering as though I were a self-conscious teen why he left. God! He made me want to cry and kill him all at the same time. But if I did that, I'd probably regret it. Well, maybe not as much as I should have. My hand came down in a fist, hitting the mattress. It didn't make much of a sound, and I probably looked stupid. But since I couldn't punch Shane, I figured picturing hitting him was the next best thing. He just wouldn't get out of my head! Why couldn't he just go and torture someone like Mitchie instead?

Suddenly, the shrill ringing of my phone went off, scaring me half to death and making me jump nearly a foot in the air. Who the hell was calling me at two in the morning?

Reaching over, I grabbed my phone and flipped it open, muttering a brisk, "What?" I probably sounded irritated, but I didn't care. Booty calls were not welcome.

"Caity?" a baritone voice came, quiet and hesitant. Nate. At least he had the decency to feel bad for calling me at such a late hour, even if I was still awake.

"Did you need something?"

"I'm so sorry, Caitlyn. Really, really, really, absolutely, completely, and extremely sorry." I gave a short chuckle, briefly forgetting the reason why I was mad at him. "Please forgive me, Caity. I didn't know he would do that. I didn't think he would be such an ass. Trust me; I gave him a long yell about how much of a fucking idiot he is."

"Don't worry about it, Nate," I murmured as a wave of tiredness washed over me. Sigh. I knew Nate meant well by sending Shane over, but his good intentions had caused me nothing but pain and insomnia.

"Caity—"

"Caitlyn," I interject, being interrupted by a yawn.

He snickered softly. "You sound sleepy." I could almost hear the fond smile on his face. It made me smile a little myself. There was something about late calls with Nate that got me all nostalgic.

"No, I'm always up this late because of booty calls from guys."

Another rumbling chuckle. "Caity, look, we can talk tomorrow if you want. There's no reason it has to be," he paused, most likely to glance at the clock, "two-ten in the morning." I could hear him swear softly on the other end. "I didn't mean to call you that late."

"No, no, it's fine," I answer hastily. If he hung up, I could never get to sleep. "We can talk now."

Nate sighed deeply over the phone. "I really am sorry, Caitlyn," he whispered softly, his voice saturated with remorse. I felt tears begin forming in my eyes, but I pushed them back. No! I was _not _going to cry.

"I know," I whispered back.

Sigh. "Shane is just…"

"Don't," I said. "Please. Let's not talk about him right now."

A bit of rustling assured me that Nate had nodded. "Um…"

"What is it, Nate?" My eyes started to droop, and I only caught the end of what he said.

"…come over tomorrow?"

"Mmm-hmm. Sure." I tried focusing on what he was saying, but I was too tired.

"Really…upset…great person…sorry…fine, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," I mumble, fighting a battle to keep my eyes open. What did I just agree to?

"Wow… okay… easy… tomorrow."

And all went black.

I woke up the next morning with my arm hanging off my bed and my cell phone on the floor. Leaning over to pick it up, I heard my back crack and winced. It was totally sore. I glanced briefly at my cell phone and swore; it was dead.

_Bang! Bang! _"MOMMY!"

I bolted out of my bed and wrenched open the door. "What's wrong?" I asked, panicking. "Are you guys okay?" I gave my kids a quick once-over and determined they both looked fine. So what was going on?

Gem looked up at me. "Nate and Shane are here."

I froze in my spot. Why was Shane at my house? The nerve of him! Was this what Nate was talking about last night? I tried to remember the conversation but failed.

"Mom," Thomas interjected. "They're downstairs."

Sighing, I gave the twins a nod and started slowly down the stairs. So slowly, in fact, that the twins got fed up and shoved past me. They ran downstairs and yelled for their grandpa to make them some breakfast. If not for the tense situation, I would've laughed; Dad couldn't even boil water without help.

"Hello, Nate," I greeted my curly-haired friend once me came into view. I didn't bother looking at Shane. I assumed he had a look of disgust plastered on his face. I gave Nate a hug and pointedly ignored Shane.

"Caity," he said after he pulled away, "you look… tired." Nate chuckled his comforting chuckle, and I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Yes, well, I didn't really expect to get a call at two in the morning."

"Right. Sorry 'bout that," Nate mumbled, a sheepish smile coming across his face.

"Hi, Caitlyn," came a new voice. It was Shane, but I didn't spare him a glance.

"Hello," I murmured softly. I knew I shouldn't have been mad at him. After all, I was the one who said he didn't have to stay. I finally turned to him and asked sweetly, "How are you?"

"Terrible."

"Oh." I wanted so badly to say that was good, since I probably felt twice as terrible as he did. But I said nothing. So we stood there in awkward silence, fidgeting and rocking back and forth on our feet. Sneaking a glance at Nate, I saw he was staring at us with a pained expression on his face.

Suddenly, I heard little footsteps running towards us. "Uncle Nate!" Gemini shouted, jumping into a startled Nate's arms.

Quickly recovering, Nate twirled her around, laughing. "Hey, Gem." When he put her down, Gemini went up to Shane and gave a polite smile.

"Hello, Mr. Shane."

Shane knelt down and nodded, murmuring, "Hello, Gemini." I could tell Shane was a bit hurt at how he was addressed so formally as opposed to Nate. He didn't let it show, though. But when he cracked a small smile and put out his arms, my daughter gave such a huge grin, I thought her face would split in half. She ran into his arms and hugged him tightly, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Of course, it kind of was. Shane was her father, after all.

Once they parted, Nate gave a small cough. Grinning brightly, he asked Gemini, "Let's go mess around with Thomas, okay? I've barely seen him all day!" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He was just _so _sneaky. Note the sarcasm.

Gem seemed to get the idea and smirked. "Sure, Uncle Nate. Let's go."

And then they were gone, leaving Shane and I standing awkwardly together. God, that girl was too much like me for her own good.

"So, ah, how are you?" Shane asked quietly, his words tentative and careful.

"Tired, angry, disappointed, alone… The list goes on, Shane," I said curtly. As much as I tried to keep the bitterness inside, I just couldn't when I saw Shane with my kids.

It seemed like my words visibly hurt him, because he winced. "I…I'm…" Shane's eyes darted down to his feet.

"What, Shane? You're what?" I snapped.

"I'm so, so sorry," Shane whispered. He looked up to me, and I was startled to see his eyes were filled with tears. "I'm sorry for running out yesterday. I'm sorry for letting you leave all those years ago. I'm sorry I haven't gotten to know my children. I'm sorry I'm an idiot. I'm sorry for hurting you and my children. I'm sorry you're tired, angry, disappointed, and alone because I know it's all my fault. The list goes on, Caitlyn." Several tears spilled over and trailed down his cheeks, but Shane wiped them away angrily.

"I wish when I saw you walk out that door all those years back I got up and followed you like I wanted to. Like you wanted me to. I wish I could've been there with you in the delivery room to hold your hand. And then when it was over, I wish I could've held the kids and let them meet their father. I wish I got to teach Thomas how to play sports and be a gentleman, and to watch you and Gem react to each other the way only females can. I wish I had been there to tuck them in and whisper 'I love you' to them every night, and then say the same thing to you. I wish we could've been a family. There are so many things I wish I could've done. That I should've done. And for missing out on those, I'm sorry."

I didn't know what to say when Shane finished. I stood there like an idiot, tears flowing down my cheeks because I was sorry and wished for all those beautiful things as well. "I…I'm sorry you're an idiot too," I whisper hoarsely. When Shane let out a choked yet relieved laugh, his feet moved a bit closer to me. I frowned a bit when he hesitated… again. "Be a man, Shane."

Shane's face broke into a blinding smile, and he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. I clung to him desperately, sobbing softly, and I could feel wet tears seeping through my shirt. I didn't know what was going to happen, but hopefully things could only go upward from here.

I finally had a chance.

A chance for a family.

* * *

I heard a car pull up in the driveway, and I cursed under my breath. How the hell did they get here so fast? Shane told me Mitchie had somehow found out and wanted to see me as soon as possible. She begged (shouted) to Shane to take her to my house for a visit. She was insisting we saw each other to catch up. Bullshit. All she wanted was to rub in the fact her life turned out better than mine.

Bitch.

I stood in my back porch, elegantly leaning against the door frame, waiting for them to get their asses to the door. I wanted to wait as long as possible before I had to see Mitchie. Thomas and Gemini both went to San Diego with Nate; they'd begged all night until I relented. They'd left shortly after Shane did, and Nate promised he'd have them back safe and sound tomorrow. Perfect timing. They wouldn't have to gouge their eyes out once they saw Mitchie.

The house was unbearably quiet, I couldn't stand it. When the doorbell rang, it seemed to echo throughout the house. When Shane and I were dating, he was constantly over, being his loud, obnoxious self. There was never a moment's peace with him around, but I never complained. I liked my life noisy and busy. Then after I found out I was pregnant, my mom and Derek were constantly watching over me. Derek was almost as loud as Shane. And after the twins were born, I had no time to myself. But I didn't mind. I never did like silence. It was the first time in over a decade (Damn, I was old) that I'd actually experienced silence all by myself. I didn't like it.

I made my way inside to answer the door, but the doorbell rang again. Two voices came from the other side of the door.

"What's taking her so long?" a reedy, annoying voice asked. I stopped in my tracks. Was that really Mitchie? It couldn't be! Her voice always used to be so soft. Every word was like she was singing.

"I don't know, Mitchie," the other voice said, annoyance saturated within it. Hearing Shane made me start walking again. I heard a soft knock. "Caitlyn? You there?" His voice was softer, more tender. I smirked. Hah! He's getting tired of you, Mitchie.

I opened the door. "Hello," I said softly. I decided to keep my sentences short to avoid bitching at Mitchie.

"Caitlyn!" Mitchie let out a loud squeal and leaped into my arms. She didn't even notice I made no move to return her hug. "How have you been? How was… wherever you were? I heard you had two kids since you left? Is that true?" She dragged me down the hall, bombarding me with questions that I managed to tune out. I turned to see Shane slowly walking in, taking his sweet time. Shutting the door gently, he followed us into the kitchen and took a seat next to me.

"Caitlyn, are you even listening to me?" Mitchie demanded with an eyebrow raised.

"No."

"Well, pay attention then!" she whined. It was getting really annoying really fast. "Now, where were you?"

"Texas."

"Oh. Ew. Anyhoo"—I rolled my eyes. She used to love Texas—"who's the father of your kids? And can I see them?" She looked around with her muddy brown eyes (what happened to her? Her eyes were always so pretty) expecting as though they would just walk out and hug her.

"They're with Nate," I answered quickly, avoiding her first question. I pointed to a picture of us smiling happily at the camera with my dad. A simple and sweet picture. "There they are, though."

"Oh, how adorable," Mitchie gushed, getting up to look closer at the picture. "How old are they?"

"Nine—almost ten."

"How lovely," she said softly, her voice still grating on my nerves. An overwhelming urge to slap her and scream in her face came over me. I just wanted to get through to her that I still had come nowhere near forgiveness. "So, Caitlyn, how have you been, darling?"

I held back a grimace at being called "darling." I hated pet names. "Pretty good, actually."

"That's great." For the first time in her visit, Mitchie sounded sincere. "So I was thinking maybe we could go out today. Y'know, just like us girls, how it used to be. We could go to the mall and the old ice cream parlor—"

"Mitchie," I interrupted her prattling. She looked at me with a dumbfounded expression on her face, as though no one had done that to her before. "Look, as great as that sounds, I can't go."

"Why not? We could find you a new man," Mitchie said in a sing-song voice. I used to love it when she did that. It always sounded so nice. Now it sounded nasally and fake.

"Listen, Mitchie. I'm not sixteen anymore. I'm twenty-six and a mother of twins. I can't really go out to find a 'new man' anymore, _darling._"

Mitchie furrowed her perfectly plucked eyebrows. "That's the point, Caity. You're single and twenty-six. You need a man," she urged, crossing her arms. It made sense, I guess. But I just didn't want to go anywhere with her. It'd be ridiculously awkward.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because, Mitchie, she doesn't need a boyfriend right now," Shane snapped, and he sent a sharp glare at her.

"Oh." A look of realization dawned on her face, but it was quickly replaced with one of a sharp, hurt anger. "So you two are hooking up behind my back, huh?" she accused pointedly, muddy brown eyes clearing a bit with anger.

"Mitchie, I'm not getting together with Shane," I said calmly. I spoke slowly, enunciating every word, as though I were talking with the twins when they were learning the alphabet.

"Really, now?

I hesitated a bit, unsure of what to say. I couldn't really tell Mitchie her boyfriend was the father of my children, now could I?

Luckily, Shane saw my confusion and covered for me. "I promised to help her unpack the rest of her stuff, and next thing I know, her kids have me wrapped around their fingers."

"Yeah," I agreed. "And besides—I wouldn't do that to you. _I'm _not like that_,_" I hissed. I stared deep into her eyes and wanted to smirk. Deep in the depths of her murky eyes, I saw the pain and regret from what she did to me so many years back. Stupid backstabber. From the corner of my eye, I saw Shane lower his head in shame.

Mitchie sighed. "Right," she whispered, sounding just like how it used to be. But then she coughed. "But that's all in the past." Sigh. Back to the annoying voice.

"The past always affects the future, Mitchie."

"How?" she scoffed.

"Take Shane, for example. He did some… _bad _things in the past, I suppose. And here comes the future, and trust me; it took a nasty bite out of his ass."

"Is that so? Shane, what the hell did you do?" Mitchie turned to look at Shane, anger shining in her eyes. She was glowering at him, _daring _him to prove my theory right.

"I…I messed up," Shane admitted quietly.

"Yes, we've established that. But _how_?" Mitchie was snarling now.

"He left me," I snapped. "He left _me _for _you._" She rounded on me and glared murderously, trying to kill me with her eyes. I knew her better than that, though. All bark and no bite. I merely rolled my eyes, thinking it not worth my energy to give her a response, and stood up from my chair and went to the kitchen. "Do you guys want something to drink?"

"Sweet tea, please," Shane called.

"Alrighty. And Mitchie?"

She seemed surprised that I even offered her one, because she stuttered out, "Oh! Um… a Sprite, I guess."

"No Sprite. Gem's allergic."

"Who?"

"Gemini. My daughter?" I snapped, annoyed.

"Oh. Yeah. Just a water, then."

As I got the drinks out, I wanted so badly to grab some of my father's pills and dump two… or three… or four pills in her drink. But then I realized my dad would probably have to stay up pretty late because his pills were missing, so I decided against it. Besides. She would only bitch at me more for drugging her anyways. Once I got our drinks, I brought it back to the table and set it in front of the two. They accepted the drinks with a quiet, "Thanks."

Fiddling with her drink, Mitchie asked, "So how was Texas? Did you meet anyone?"

"No. But I met up with my best friend Derek," I said idly, not really paying attention as I sipped my drink.

"I thought I was your best friend." Mitchie seemed alarmed and pouted at me. I choked on the liquid in my mouth when I tried to gasp, but Shane gave my back a few good pats to get it out.

I gasped for air before spitting out, "Excuse me?" She could not be serious.

"I'm your best friend, right?"

I swore I saw red. That little bitch! I raged internally. How dare she? How _dare _she think that?! Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that even Shane was shaking his head in disbelief.

"There is no way," I spat out, completely incensed, "that you are my best friend. Why the hell would you even think that?!"

"Well, before you left…"

I let out a cruel, hard laugh, and I relished in the fact I made Mitchie wince. "Before I left, you stole my boyfriend, and you didn't once think about my feelings. I had to find out through Nate—the darling—that you were dating my recent ex-boyfriend, that you very well knew I wasn't over! And don't act like you didn't know." Mitchie sucked on her lower lip, just like she always did when she felt guilty. "You knew how I felt, you _bitch._ You know just how many times I called you crying over Shane, wondering why he'd dumped me. You know how many times you told me Shane wasn't worth it, and I'd move on, because you thought I'd have to since I had to wish you and Shane happiness. What kind of fucked up best friend does that? You, _Michelle, _are not my best friend. Far from it. Quite frankly, I don't think I can find it in me to ever forgive you." I shook my head in disgust and coldly whispered, "You can find the door by yourself, I hope. And don't come back."

Mitchie stiffly got up, and she looked as though she was about to cry. She walked out of the room, looking somewhat dazed. She was almost out of my life, just a few more steps, but she stopped walking. "I'm sorry," she whispered brokenly, her voice sounding like how it was before. "When you put it like that… I don't think I could forgive myself for doing this to you either." And with that, Mitchie ran out, slamming the door behind her.

All was silent for a few minutes, and I tried to collect myself.

"Well, that didn't go at all according to plan," Shane murmured, shaking his head slightly.

I let out a breathless laugh, but it came out as more of a whimper. "Yeah," I said weakly. "Can you believe the nerve of her?" I expected him to say something along the lines of, "You shouldn't be so hard on her." But instead, Shane merely shook his head.

"Yeah. She's like that. I'm glad I'm breaking up with her."

"Again?" At his surprised look, I added, "Nate does a really good job of filling people in."

Shane chuckled. "Yes, again. But this time, it's for good. And I'm going to tell her why, you know," he warned, his expression going serious for a moment.

I shrugged. "Better you than me, dude."

"That's true."

"Why for good this time, though?" I asked, suddenly curious. They'd seemed so in love when I'd left, I thought bitterly.

"It's high time I stop listening to Mitchie whine about what shoes she wants to buy," Shane said dryly. He stared longingly at the picture of me and our kids. "And besides," he murmured, grasping my hand gently, "I have new people to care about."


End file.
